The Fight for the Standard

Gerard Edelinck after Sir Peter Paul Rubens after Leonardo da Vinci

National Gallery of Art

This print features a battle scene with horses and armed soldiers. Multiple horses are rearing up against each other, with armored warriors engaged in combat on their backs. We see the twisting limbs and heads of the horses and warriors all together in a jumble, making it difficult to see exactly how many there are. Soldiers swing their weapons at each other or grab each other's limbs, their faces contorted and mouths open. More people are seen on the ground below the horses, grappling with each other, some with large round shields. The sky behind the scene and the ground below are filled with thin, swirling, crosshatching lines.